Saturday, December 30, 2006

"Music is my means of connecting with the divine. What cannot be put into words, can be expressed through music. When one listens to music, one closes one's eyes because music is an expression and celebration of the divine

There are countless names of God, which we cannot utter simultaneously, but through a soulful composition, we can experience the whole power of God's presence amidst us "

Only an absolute gem of a person can have such thoughts ...and thats what A R Rahman is ...a gem, a divine being himself ....

And your music is what helps a lesser mortal like me connect to the divine ....I thank u ....

Monday, December 11, 2006

Now heres a a double bill ....Rahman won awards for both the Best music as well as the Best background music for his score in Rang De Basanti ...at the GIFA Awards couple of days back.And as if its the icing on the cake, 3 of his compostions(see below) have also found their way into the 56 songs short-listed for an Oscar in the original song category. “Chan Chan” from “Water”“Khalbali” from “Rang de Basanti”“Luka Chuppi” from “Rang de Basanti”Though the actual 5 or 6 nominations won't be announced until Jan 23 and not sure whether Rahman's songs will find their way into that too, can't help but feel thrilled about this ....read more abt this at...http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2006/06.12.08.html-A

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Sometimes I wonder, whether or not Rahman's music has created a protective blanket for my ears or set standards so high, that any other music just sounds so bland, so unimportant and so repulsive at times. I used to consider myself a good music critic - now though when everything starts and ends with Rahman, I guess am no longer one. Obviously, I am not sad about that :-) for what he has created in the past 14 years - each and every bit, each and every song, each and every tune - is enough to make me happy for a lifetime.

I remember a episode from the monthly news diary - Newstrack (probably 12-13 years back) where some music directors had called Rahman a 1-film wonder, a speck so immaterial who would disappear into the darkness in no time. Boy !!!! I knew at that time that they were wrong and how. So so wrong were they .....

Salaam-e-IshqHeard ...Salaam-e-Ishq today- the latest offering from Shankar EL. Know what !!! in a world without Rahman's music - this album would have been fine, just fine. But not in a world where just about 2 weeks back 'Guru' had been released, not in a world where me and my girl were playing just Rahman all through the morning and not in a world where my car just plays Rahman (through my ipod).

Shankar EL are getting too repetitive. They are a good group - better than the Himesh's and the Pritam's of the world. In fact, they would rank behind ARR and Vishaal Bharadwaj in my list.But this album just about sounds where they left off in KANK or any of their previous albums.

My recco - not worth a buy but ok for a ' hear'.

OldboySaw this great South Korean movie ....Oldboy. Not for the weak-hearted and definitely a tough story to digest (note that this movie was copied in bollywood too as 'Zinda' which was ok but the story was attuned to suit the Indian conservation indian audience).

The Adventures of Kavalier and ClayReading this book - a Pulitzer prize winning attempt, I think. Its a really gud read about two boys (cousins to each other) who want to make it big in this world and are inspired by Houdini and comic strips. A full review once I finish reading it.